


New, And A Bit Alarming

by orphan_account



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crossdressing, Dark, Drabble Collection, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, First Time, Future Fic, Imperfect Drabbles, Marriage Proposal, Meet the Family, No Sex, Road Trips, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-10-15 04:57:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10550434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: As Jasper learns to appreciate Earth and see things from a new point of view, her relationship with Pearl blossoms.





	1. enemies to lovers/friends to lovers

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't plan to - or honestly, _want to_ \- fall in love with this ship. But there you are.
> 
> Title comes from the Beauty and the Beast song "Something There".

Once healed, Jasper isn’t so much _willing_ to reform as without choice. The Gems keep her on a short leash – figuratively, as amusing as that was with Peridot.

So, Pearl is naturally concerned when she sees Jasper on the porch late on evening.

“What are you doing?” she asks, stepping outside. Jasper doesn’t look at her.

“The fusion-”

“ _Garnet_.”

“-says you can see Homeworld from all the way out here.”

“Oh.”

“Do you miss it?”

Pearl’s so surprised by the open emotion in Jasper’s voice that she answers without a thought. “Not Homeworld. _Why_ would I miss Homeworld? But space, yes.”

“Not sure why I asked you, really,” Jasper snorts. “You Crystal Gems love this place so much.”

“Sometimes it’s still an adjustment.”

“Really?” Jasper finally looks down at Pearl.

“Of course.”

It’s a small start, but soon Jasper goes to Pearl with questions about Earth. It’s surprisingly endearing.

“And love?”

“Love is _not_ just on Earth.”

“I guess. But… It’s okay here. Different. And humans _show it_.”

“True… What’s your question?”

“What does it feel like?”

“Ah…” Pearl would give a generic explanation, but again, Jasper’s sincerity catches her off guard. “Simplicity. It’s probably the simplest thing of all.”

Jasper nods, lips parted, then leans in and kisses Pearl’s cheek. It’s unexpected. Jasper carefully watches the blushing Pearl; waiting for her to speak, expression uncertain.

“It’s also something you take slowly.”

“Oh,” Jasper says quietly, looking alarmed, even dismayed. Pearl shakes her head and smiles.

“But everything starts somewhere.”


	2. sharing a bed

“Why does Amethyst do that?” Jasper asks. Pearl shushes her and beckons her away from the other, sleeping Gem.

“She enjoys it.”

“We don’t need sleep, though. It’s… Pointless.” Pearl nods, because she still doesn’t see the appeal, herself. “I want to try it.”

“What?”

“She seems so relaxed,” Jasper grunts, gesturing to Amethyst. “I want to try it.”

“Alright. You just lie down, and close your eyes.”

“I can see _that_. Is there more?”

“You just have to clear your mind. Or think of something nice. I think that’s the best way to do it.”

Jasper nods; glances over her shoulder at the portion of the couch that isn’t occupied by tiny Amethyst. “Okay. Come with me.”

Pearl’s eyes widen, and she’s sure she’s blushing, but she certainly isn’t going to delve into the human implications of sharing a bed just now. “Um… Alright.”

Jasper lays on the couch, having to curl up on her side to fit, and Pearl tries to figure out where she’ll fit. Eventually, she sort of… wedges herself between Jasper and the back of the couch. She tucks her knees up against Jasper’s stomach, and she’s so large; it’s just _comforting_. She nuzzles against Jasper’s neck, and Jasper chuckles.

“Does this mean taking it slowly is going well?”

“You can’t talk when you’re sleeping,” Pearl mumbles.

“Pearl?”

“…I would say it does, yes.”

Jasper puts her arms around Pearl. “So, I think of something nice?”

“Mmhm.”

“Like now? Right here?”

There’s more nuzzling. “Mmhm.”


	3. meet the family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is 'revealing the relationship to the family', not 'meeting the family', but you know.

Pearl planned on telling the other Gems about her and Jasper eventually, but when Amethyst wakes up to see her and Jasper cuddled together, well, it’s one down and two to go.

“It’s kind of weird,” Amethyst says with a smirk, and Pearl doesn’t bother asking why it’s weird, because she’s quite sure Amethyst is just trying to get a rise out of her. Jasper is less privy to the dynamic there.

“Why is it _weird_?”

Amethyst shrugs, confirming Pearl’s suspicions. “But you should tell Steven. Garnet probably already suspects it, but you should definitely tell Steven.”

Pearl hadn’t thought about Garnet already having an idea of what was going on, but it is entirely likely. “He’ll probably be thrilled,” Pearl admits.

“Yeah, he likes this kind of stuff, huh?” Jasper asks. Amethyst and Pearl nod. “Then I’ll tell him.”

“Really?” Pearl asks, smiling.

“Yeah. It’ll be nice.”

That evening, Steven comes from visiting Connie, and Garnet happens to have emerged from her room, then, too – so hey, Jasper figures, might as get them both in on this.

“Hey, Steven, Fus- Garnet. Sorry.” Old habits die hard. “I think I love Pearl.” Simple as that. Garnet nods with a slight smile, and Jasper turns her attention to Steven, surprised that he didn’t say anything yet.

The boy has a huge grin on his face; his fists to his face, pushing up his cheeks. A high-pitch squeak of speech emerges from his grinning mouth. “That’s so _great_!”

Jasper nods. “Really is.”


	4. road trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a roadtrip _per say_ , but this is what fit into the story.

When Jasper says she wants to make things right with Lapis, Pearl isn’t as surprised as she would have been a few months ago. Jasper really has come a long way. She’s nervous about how Lapis will react, but this is certainly important for them both.

Greg offers to drive them to the barn, and while it’s entirely unnecessary, Jasper’s never been in an Earth vehicle before. She’s curious; they accept.

Music is playing in the van, as always; Greg’s old work. In the back, Jasper picks up Greg’s guitar, (then she asks if she can, once Pearl reminds her to), and tries to play along, frustrated when she doesn’t get it right away.

But it’s not the old kind of frustration for Jasper; it’s a befuddled kind of… Adorableness, really. Pearl leans over the guitar and presses a kiss to Jasper’s lips, and Jasper’s eyes are wide when Pearl pulls away.

“Hey… You did that.”

It’s the cutest thing Pearl’s ever heard, Jasper being so surprised that she’s lost for words.

“I love you,” Pearl whispers, smiling.

Jasper grins, now _entirely_ speechless. She tosses the guitar aside, (there’s an audible twang and a sharp inhalation of breath from Greg up front), and she grabs Pearl in a hug. Pearl suspects this is what real, physical warmth must feel like.

All too soon, the van has stopped. “Okay, ladies, we’re here,” Greg says. “You guys?” But they don’t answer; they’re in their own world. “Is my guitar okay, at least?”


	5. first time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Gem approach to a "first time" - the first time fusing.

“So, Jasper,” Peridot begins. Pearl and Jasper have been at the barn for nearly a month, and things with Lapis are slow going, but Peridot, after some initial terror, has forgiven and forgotten. “Have you tried fusing again yet?”

Lapis is out, getting some air, or Peridot wouldn’t bring it up… But she’s curious. Jasper doesn’t respond as well as Peridot had hoped, though. At first, she just stares at the smaller Gem, who points out, “I just thought maybe you and Pearl…”

And then Jasper walks right out of the barn, and Peridot is baffled. “What’d I do?” She turns to Pearl, but Pearl is halfway outside, herself.

“Jasper?”

“I do _want_ to try it,” Jasper grunts, sulking. “It’s just…”

“What?”

“They all want to leave. After anyone fuses with me, they want to _leave_. I don’t want you-”

“I won’t,” Pearl says gently, reaching up on tiptoe to touch Jasper’s cheek. Then she steps back and holds out her hand. “Only if you want to.”

Jasper hesitates, then reaches out for Pearl’s hand, and allows herself to be lead in a dance. It’s a simple dance, but that seems fitting for them. The position of lead shifts to Jasper, and she twirls and dips Pearl, and then…

Fusion. In a way, she only sees Pearl, but she also sees through the eyes of a newly-formed Fusion: Calcite. Technically, it’s the same experience she had when she formed Malachite, but… It feels so, _so_ different.

So, _so_ much better.


	6. darkfic

Pearl would like to say that once she realized she loved Jasper, she could think about Rose Quartz without the old pain surfacing, but… That isn’t the truth.

She wouldn’t say she still loves Rose, not the way she now loves Jasper, but when Rose crosses her mind, the loss still stings. Logically, she knows that it is normal; that they’d been close and that Amethyst and Garnet must miss her this way, too. Emotionally, she feels guilty.

She wonders if she should tell Jasper; knows she should talk to Garnet, or even Amethyst. But she can’t bear to; that would be a confession of her crime. It's... It's as if speaking the words out loud would ruin what she has with Jasper, even if… Even if, during these dark times, she thinks it won’t last _anyway_. She isn’t good enough for Jasper, just as she hadn’t been good enough for Rose; will never be good enough for _anyone_ -

It sends her into a spiral of anxiety and self-doubt and even self-loathing, and she withdraws from everyone during these times. Jasper worries. They all worry. But Pearl has to keep them away, no one can see her like this. She has to be strong enough; _good enough_.

Her friends, and her dear Jasper, deserve so much better than her. Pearl can't fight these thoughts off when they come, so instead, she fights holo-Pearl, and waits for the darkness to pass- Each time fearing that this is the time it won’t.


	7. marriage proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically, the future fic trope bit starts with this installation.

Time heals all wounds, they say, and as months pass into years, Pearl can handle missing Rose without feeling like an insignificant piece of dirt. In fact, she even talks about it with Amethyst and Garnet and even Jasper. It brings her closer to the other two Crystal Gems, and Jasper… Well, Jasper is confused at first; feels like she is once again playing second fiddle to Rose Quartz.

That is something they’ve dealt with years ago, however, by the time Steven – now an adult – gathers his entire family and announces his plan to propose to Connie. Pearl absolutely does _not_ tear up, no matter what Amethyst teases her for later. (Besides, Greg gets to get choked up, why can’t she?)

That evening, she’s sparring with Jasper. They both enjoy staying sharp when it comes to battle, and Pearl was not surprised with how well Jasper took to a sword.

“Would you ever want that?” Jasper asks, quite abruptly.

“Hmm?”

“To get married?”

“Oh. Oh!” Pearl blushes. “That… No. I don’t think so, no. It’s a human custom I just don’t grasp. I mean, even Rose and Greg never married.” A beat, as Pearl realizes she may be putting her foot right into her mouth. “Would _you_ ever want that?”

And Jasper just laughs. “Nah. It seems like way too much fuss on one day. I’m more interested in the rest of it, you know?”

Pearl grins, because she truly does know; nods before saying, “Steven’s should be fun, though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, I lost track of one of my planned tropes somewhere between my last update and now, or I may have just never had one picked. Either way, this is now a 9-part work.


End file.
